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Source: Suspect's Writings Show Anti-Trump Administration Ideology; Sources: Suspect Identifies as 31-Years-Old California Man; Iranian Foreign Minister Meets with Mediators in Pakistan on Truce Talks. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 26, 2026 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:03]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now! Breaking news. Urgent investigation, an attack at The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. A gunman opens fire, President Trump and his Cabinet are rushed to safety, and a U.S. Secret Service officer is hit in his bulletproof vest.

The suspect, officials say the alleged gunman is a 31-year-old man from California, a teacher and a video game developer.

We are going to bring you the very latest in what we are learning about his possible motives.

The security: There are now very serious questions about the protocols to screen attendees and guests. One U.S. lawmaker says the security was "woefully insufficient."

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: Good afternoon. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington with my colleague and friend, Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

Let's start with the breaking news.

Right now, we are learning very troubling new details about the man accused of firing shots just outside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. The President and key members of his Cabinet were inside, but unharmed.

Two sources now tell CNN the suspect is Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year- old man from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance. He was tackled and arrested without injury, and on a very personal note, I was just a few feet away from the alleged gunman when those shots were first fired. It was terrifying.

This is some new video of the FBI agents in a neighborhood connected to the suspect. The agents are now going door-to-door there. A source tells CNN that investigators have recovered writings from the accused gunman, and they indicate what they describe as very strong feelings against the Trump administration and its senior officials.

And The White House says the suspect's family actually contacted police about those writings just minutes before the attack.

President Trump's acting Attorney General tells CNN the alleged gunman was likely targeting key members of the Trump administration.

CNN's senior White House correspondent, Kristen Holmes is joining us right now.

Kristen, I understand you have some new reporting about the suspect's writings.

What can you tell us?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, I know that we heard some of this from the acting Attorney General, but we do have that in these writings, this suspect said that he was targeting, in fact, these Cabinet officials.

He also specifically said that he wasn't targeting law enforcement, that he was only going to go after law enforcement if they stood in his way, but that was not his intention.

Of course, as we know what we have seen, he did end up exchanging gunfire with law enforcement there and hitting an officer who was fine. He hit him in his bulletproof vest.

We also heard from President Trump kind of detailing at least some of what we've learned about that Manifesto. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- with the rest of his life. But it is very, very bad, very bad situation, but his family knew that he had difficulty.

His family seemed to be -- I think they spent a lot of time with his family. His family said he had big difficulties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, there have been an enormous amount of conversations happening within the administration, within the Secret Service about this event and having this many Cabinet officials in one place, particularly now that we are seeing this Manifesto where it says, according to my source who has been briefed on it, that he was intending, he came to this event because there were so many of these Cabinet officials in one place with the President.

So now you're seeing conversations happening about security protocols. It is unclear if anything will change moving forward, but it is certainly a topic of conversation, as we know, not only were these Cabinet officials there, but both the President and the Vice President were in that room up on that dais.

So a lot happening here in terms of what they might do in the future in these kind of situations.

BLITZER: All right, Kristen Holmes reporting for us from The White House. Thank you very much.

I want to go out to Torrance, California right now. That's the town where the gunman lived, and now a stunned community is there.

FBI agents are blanketing the actual neighborhood as the investigation into The White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting expands dramatically.

CNN's senior investigative correspondent, Kyung Lah is just outside Cole Tomas Allen's family home out there in Torrance. What are you hearing, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't seen the family come out and talk to press. We haven't really seen any indication that the family is even home, but what we have seen are FBI agents in the neighborhood this morning, going door-to-door. We saw them trying to talk to neighbors.

We did overhear them saying that what they were trying to get is some evidence of any sort of RING camera video. We don't know what the motive is there by the FBI. It certainly seems like they are still in the evidence collection phase.

[15:05:06]

And, you know, people here in this community are very interested in what the FBI learns, because this is a quiet family, older couple who lives here. Their son lived with them, 31-year-old, Cole Allen.

Before now, they really didn't hear much from him at all. The family is very friendly, but he was, you know, not somebody who was well known to a lot of these neighbors.

What they did know about him is that he is someone who has, you know, really no problems. And if anything, was a high achiever who went to Caltech, who had a Masters in Engineering, who really excelled in the academic space. He was Teacher of the Year at a tutoring academy in December of 2024.

He had -- he was a gaming enthusiast, but the gaming didn't seem to indicate any sort of violent tendencies. And so there are a lot of questions here.

What was happening, though, at least what the records are showing, the weapons records is that in October 2023, he purchased a handgun legally at a gun store here in Torrance, and then two years later, purchased a shotgun again legally from a Torrance store.

Those weapons were stored without the parents' knowledge at this home. He then purchased some type of ground transportation ticket and made it to Washington, D.C., where he had those two weapons, as well as multiple knives on him when he was tackled to the ground at the Hilton in that hallway where you did see him, Wolf.

And we do know that he will be arraigned on Monday, that those two charges are very serious. There could be additional charges on top of them. Those charges, including using a firearm during a crime of violence, as well as assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

But, Wolf, I can't stress to you enough, this is a beach community, a middle class community. You know, people are walking around with their dogs, their little kids. They really want to know how something like this could happen from, you know, a good kid from this neighborhood.

BLITZER: A high achiever, as you correctly point out.

Kyung Lah, thank you very, very much.

I want to discuss what's going on with CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, the former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe. Also with us, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams.

Andrew, let me start with you. The FBI is going door-to-door in the suspect's neighborhood out there in Torrance, outside of Los Angeles. What do you think they're looking for?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, so Wolf, this is a standard part of a massive investigation that's going to look into every facet of this person's background, his associates, his communications, electronics devices.

Part of that is a canvass of the neighborhood, just to see if people were aware of him, see what kind of lifestyle he led in the area, try to uncover if there are any friends or associates who live near him who he may have been close to, who he may have confided in. And I should also say, you know, authorities in checking all of these connections, are also looking for people who might be like minded or who might have known about his plans, or maybe helped him plan or execute his plan in some way or another.

So there are many purposes to what they are doing now. This is all basic FBI investigation 101.

BLITZER: You know, it is interesting, Elliot, that authorities have not yet, at least publicly, officially identified the suspect, although we all know who the suspect is. But is that at all unusual to you?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. Before I get to that, Wolf, it is great to be here with you and that you are safe, given how your evening went last night and I just wanted to say that.

BLITZER: It was a very scary.

WILLIAMS: I can only imagine, and it is great to be here with you.

Now, more importantly, is it unusual? I think what's unusual is the fact that we live in a world in which, when criminal events happen, there are cell phone video and cameras and people on social media that's actually quite bad for the criminal justice process. The proper or I think, the optimal way to proceed would be when an individual is charged, that is, when law enforcement goes public with that individual's name and identity and information about the charges that are brought against them.

A lot of what we might be seeing publicly may not be verified or true. Now, look, you and I see the videos, we've seen -- when we can piece together who this individual is, but in general, it is probably wiser for law enforcement to sit tight until they are certain that they know who they are identifying, and to go ahead with that.

BLITZER: He is supposedly going to be arraigned tomorrow.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BLITZER: So at that point, they'll go public with all of that.

WILLIAMS: By law, because of the fact that we have an obligation as the public to know who a person is and he has a right, you know, rights that that come up in court that involve, you know, his name and his identity and I think that's the time to wait to do it.

BLITZER: The suspect, Andrew, referred to himself, and I am quoting now as the "friendly federal assassin" in his writings that he sent to his family members just minutes before this incident happened. What do you make of that?

MCCABE: Well, I think that the picture that's just starting to emerge with particularly information from those writings that you quoted, is a very troubled person, a person who has -- is harboring all kinds of grievances.

[15:10:03]

His grievances appear to be politically motivated and were manifested in his desire to take out some sort of revenge or retribution upon the current administration, people associated with it.

But I should say, Wolf, this is not that different from what we see in the case of crisis events and mass shootings and certainly political violence events that we've seen in this country for the last few years.

What we are experiencing now is a period of time in which people who harbor these grievances are really progressing towards violence in a way that we haven't seen in the last several decades.

Every country has people with grievances and who are upset about certain things. But we seem to be setting a new high bar for as a place where people who have those feelings are then taking that next step and executing some sort of violent action. And of course, in this country, they can arm themselves with very destructive weapons quite easily.

BLITZER: You know, it is interesting, Elliot, the U.S. Attorney for the district of Columbia, where we are, of course, right now, Jeanine Pirro, says the suspect faces two specific charges using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

How likely is it that we could see other charges emerge in this case as well?

WILLIAMS: I would think we would see other charges based on the information that Andrew was just talking about a moment ago once prosecutors and investigators start getting ahold of the hard drives and the text messages and the statements that the defendant has made along the way that suggested what he intended To do.

If you notice the things that he is charged with, here are things that no one can dispute based on what is on the video. Did he have a deadly weapon? Yes. The defendant -- did he discharge the weapon in front of other people? Yes. And did he assault a federal officer? Well, I understand that there is an officer that did take a bullet into his or her vest. So those are things right off the bat that, you know, you can charge.

Now, the bigger crimes of attempting to kill the President or the Vice President, senior government officials, or injure other senior government officials when more evidence comes out that shows what his intent was. If he says, I want to kill the President, or if he told people that, then absolutely you could think that that person would be charged with that.

BLITZER: You know, a very personal question, because I was there right near the suspect when the fire or the shots were fired, scared the hell out of me and a police officer came and pushed me to the ground and said, get down, get down, got on top of me to protect me at that point.

But afterwards, when the situation calmed down, a police officer came up to me and said, we need your name, your information, because we think you're going to have to be a witness in this case. Is that going to happen?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BLITZER: Are they going to call me to be a witness?

WILLIAMS: You could be a witness. Now what's critical in any criminal investigation, Wolf, is how can you establish that the guy with the e- mail and the guy with the gun and the guy in the hotel and the guy who fired those shots are all the same person, that will involve the hard drives and the e-mails and everything else, but also people on the scene of the crime who might have had a look at his face or what he was wearing, or the way he behaved, who can help reconstruct that narrative. And that would involve Wolf Blitzer, who was standing there at that time and can say, wait a second, that man sitting in the courtroom is the person who fired those shots.

BLITZER: Yes, I did get a good look at his face, though. And I said to him --

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BLITZER: Whatever I've said on CNN is my testimony.

WILLIAMS: And to be clear, and I don't want to put you in a position of getting ahead of whatever could be future testimony, but that's just how you would build a case if someone was there. They're going to ask some questions in all likelihood.

BLITZER: Interesting. All right. We will see what happens on that front.

Elliot Williams, Andrew McCabe, to both of you, thank you very, very much.

Still ahead, we are getting new reaction from world leaders in the wake of the shooting over at The White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Plus, they are two of the most protected men on the planet, but plans are still being modified right now for King Charles' state visit to the United States and his meeting with President Trump.

We are going to take you inside those conversations. New information emerging. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:33]

BLITZER: World leaders are speaking out, voicing their relief that the President of the United States and other attendants at The White House Correspondents' Dinner last night are safe. The shooting was very, very powerful, very dramatic.

CNN correspondent, Clare Sebastian takes a closer look at reactions coming in from around the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Western leaders were united in their condemnations of the shooting at The White House Correspondents' Dinner, despite recent tensions over the Iran War. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quick to show his support, especially, of course, ahead of King Charles' planned state visit to the U.S. on Monday, expressing his best wishes to President Donald Trump in a phone call Sunday, Downing Street said. Starmer also used the opportunity to discuss the urgent need to open the Strait of Hormuz.

French President Emmanuel Macron also offered his "full support" to Donald Trump in a post on X, and many, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nearly two months of course, into a joint war with the U.S. against Iran, expressed relief that the President and First Lady escaped unharmed.

Netanyahu addressed the incident at a Cabinet meeting Sunday.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): My wife and I were shocked, as you were to hear about this repeated attempt to assassinate President Trump and his wife.

We were glad that both of them, along with senior members of the U.S. administration, came out unharmed. There is no place for violence, not against political leaders and not against anyone.

SEBASTIAN (voice over): Although acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says the suspect appeared to be targeting members of the administration, there is no word yet on whom.

[15:20:06]

Now, Mark Carney of Canada offered support for those, "shaken by this disturbing event." Many international journalists also, of course, attend The White House Correspondents' Dinner, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, also weighed in, "Such violence has no justification," he wrote on X, "... and must have no place in a democratic society."

Clare Sebastian CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And thanks very much, Clare, for that report.

On the heels of last night's rather chaotic correspondents' dinner, Buckingham Palace issued a statement confirming King Charles III and Queen Camilla, will in fact proceed with their state visit to the United States in the coming days.

The Royal couple are set to arrive at The White House as part of a four-day trip to mark the 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence.

CNN anchor and royal correspondent, Max Foster is here with me right now in Washington, getting ready to cover all of this.

What's -- what is the latest you're hearing about the planned events? Any changes as a result of what happened last?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, inevitably, what will happen, they had to reassess the whole visit, and there was some speculation it might be called off completely. My understanding is the King was very keen for it to continue, keep calm and carry on, as it were. And then the President was also keen, and then there are layers to this. So the two governments needed to want it to go ahead as well.

So those discussions, ultimately it came down to the security teams on both sides and whether or not they felt it was a good idea and once they got through that, so several hours of conversations, they decided it should go ahead.

So it will look very similar to what was planned. There will be some changes to elements, but I don't think they were, you know, had been reported yet anyway. So in terms of what you see, I think it would be very similar.

BLITZER: One thing that will not appear on the King's itinerary, we are told, is that Buckingham Palace says King Charles will not meet with Epstein's victims during this upcoming visit. The King has distanced himself from the case after the arrest of his brother, Andrew, in February.

How is that being received in the U.K.?

FOSTER: So it was -- there is no change there when the investigation into Charles' brother, Andrew. Police investigation started, the King said he wouldn't be able to comment on it because it may affect the trial. He is head of the judiciary, head of the courts, head of the prison service. He had to stay out of that, so he was never going to address Epstein directly.

But there is an acknowledgment that it is a big talking point whilst he is here. And I think the way they are going to reflect that is there will be a moment where the Queen will meet survivors of domestic violence or charities associated with them, which is part of her ongoing campaign, really to work with those survivors. But that's an acknowledgment, really, that the survivors always come first.

So not directly dealing with Epstein, but if there is an Epstein moment, that's where it is going to be.

BLITZER: The King will still speak before a joint meeting of the House and the Senate of the Congress. Right?

FOSTER: Absolutely. We are not being given anything particular about that, apart from talking about the two challenges of the nations. Maybe there will be some adjustment to the speech now after what happened on Saturday night, but I am being told this is a visit that transcends the presidency effectively. It is not just about President Trump, it is about speaking to the American people, emphasizing how there are deep, long term historic links between these two countries.

So speaking to Congress, the King, I think, is speaking to the American people rather than being an ode to any particular president. That's the message I am getting.

BLITZER: Max Foster, as usual. Welcome to Washington. Thanks very much for coming in.

FOSTER: Good to be here.

BLITZER: We will spend some quality time together, I am sure, over the next few days. Thank you very, very much.

FOSTER: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, a quiet California neighborhood turned upside down. FBI agents now going door-to-door trying to get more information about the suspected gunman. A closer look at the investigation, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:09]

BLITZER: We continue our breaking news coverage of the shooting just outside The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel here in the D.C.

And this just in, CNN has obtained this driver's license photo of the suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen. He is due to be arraigned tomorrow.

And this is new video of FBI agents going door-to-door in Allen's community out in Torrance, California speaking to his neighbors. He was arrested unharmed after trading gunfire with authorities in the hotel lobby, just one floor away from the actual ballroom dinner.

Today, The White House says Allen's social media accounts strongly reflected anti-Trump feelings. The acting U.S. Attorney General, Tom Blanche, tells our Dana Bash, the attack was targeting administration officials at the event.

And this morning, President Trump praised the quick response of U.S. Secret Service agents as soon as the shots rang out nearby.

CNN's Brian Todd shows us how things actually unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Chaotic scenes at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner as U.S. President Donald Trump was rushed off stage after shots were fired in the hotel where the event was taking place.

Trump and the Cabinet members who attended are all safe, and the suspect is in custody.

Here is what we know about how the incident unfolded. By 8:00 P.M., the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel was full of guests awaiting the night's festivities.

Sixteen minutes later, the U.S. President and First Lady took to the stage. So far, so normal.

At 8:34 P.M., Trump is seen conversing with American mentalist, Oz Pearlman, who appears to be showing him a magic trick. And here is where the night takes an unexpected turn.

Outside that room, at the security perimeter, a man is caught on video charging through a Secret Service checkpoint.

In the footage, which was later posted to the President's Truth Social account, Secret Service members can be seen drawing their weapons and pointing them off screen in the direction of the assailant.

[15:30:13]

BLITZER: Just maybe three, four, or five feet away from me. Theres a gunshot, a whole bunch of gunshots, and someone firing.

TODD (voice over): Back at the dinner, as President Trump makes conversation, a loud noise is heard in the background, followed by what sounds like several gunshots. A look of shock clearly passes over First Lady Melania Trump's face.

Eleven seconds after the first noise was heard, Security Services personnel surround the President. On the other end of the stage, security reached Vice President J.D. Vance, who had been seated close to the end and immediately rush him away.

Seconds later, the Secret Service continues to encircle the President and takes him off stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what happened?

TODD (voice over): In the moments that followed, members of Trump's Cabinet, including Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson are seen being escorted through the hotel to safety.

Back inside the ballroom, the shocked guests sheltered at their tables. CNN's Sara Sidner filming this as she did so.

Attendees, including CNN's Manu Raju and Brian Stelter trying to make out what had happened.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is unmistakable it sounded like gunshots that we heard.

TODD (voice over): The shooter was stopped on the floor above the ballroom.

At 8:52 P.M., this video was filmed by eyewitness, Bill Frischling, showing the suspect lying face down on the ground, shirtless and in handcuffs. Sources tell CNN he has been identified as a 31-year-old male from California. It is believed he was working alone.

Almost an hour later, a motorcade believed to be carrying President Trump departed the Washington Hilton. Still later, upon returning to The White House, the President held a press conference praising law enforcement and calling the presidency a, "dangerous profession."

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It comes with the territory, and if you want to do a great job, I really believe that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Thanks to Brian Todd for that report.

Joining us now, CNN senior correspondent, Josh Campbell.

Josh, I know you worked as a supervisory special agent with the FBI. Walk us through the investigative process right now and how you think it will unfold.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I will just add, as others have said, we are grateful that you are okay being in such close proximity to what happened. This is obviously a very unsettling and unique investigation, and that it began immediately after those shots were fired and the individual was taken down, because in the crowd at this event, you had the nation's top law enforcement leaders.

You had the Acting Attorney General, FBI Director Kash Patel was there. He was seen on video working the phones, talking with the Washington Command Center, getting updates.

Once authorities determined that there was a California connection, I am told the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, they immediately sprung into action, descending on this home in the neighborhood of Torrance, which is an L.A. suburb processing that scene, trying to gather as much information as they can about the suspect.

We are learning a lot about his suspected motive now. CNN is told that just before -- minutes before this incident happened, he reportedly sent members of his family a message, a so-called Manifesto.

And our colleague Kristen Holmes obtained a copy of that, which I was just reading through. I mean, quite honestly, the word "delusional" comes to mind as you read a lot of what is being stated in here. It is clear that he had animus for President Trump and other administration officials. He calls them targets.

There is this strange rationale in this Manifesto where he talks about not wanting to harm law enforcement unless it actually comes to that. I am not going to get into amplifying all of his kind of delusional rationalizations.

But just to give you an example, there is even a section where he is listing out kind of a Q&A. Here are all the things that people might say objecting to what I am about to do. Here are my rebuttals. So really strange. But I will tell you, Wolf, I've worked enough of these cases in law enforcement and then now obviously in the media that this all seems textbook of what law enforcement profilers call "grievance collectors."

This thing is full of all kinds of grievances, and sadly, we've seen so often that people are out there predisposed to act on those with violence. Thankfully, no one there was, you know, seriously injured or hurt. Now, the suspect is facing serious federal charges.

BLITZER: He will be arraigned tomorrow.

Does this incident, Josh, point to larger concerns of threats to senior public officials and the difficulty to protect them in this current threat environment?

CAMPBELL: Yes, Well, we've seen the spiked elevation in threats based on this heated political rhetoric that we are seeing in this country, and you know, despite calls for people, you know, both the far-left, the far-right to kind of bring down this national temperature, that has obviously not changed and this is what law enforcement continues to be worried about. I will tell you, Wolf, there will be a big question here about security at that facility. There will be an after action to try to determine whether law enforcement did what they were supposed to be doing. They obviously stopped the threat before any serious harm could be caused.

But this is not a situation that you can police your way out of this political violence in this country.

Law enforcement isn't going to be the answer to this and that's because you look at, you know, where security checkpoints are.

[15:35:15]

Just to give you one example, you know, I've heard some people say, well, maybe that security checkpoint should be moved farther out. This person wasn't, you know, imminently about to burst into that ballroom, but anywhere that there is an initial security checkpoint is necessarily going to be a weak point because people are, you know, can't be screened and determined there are not a threat unless they go through that.

And so, again, a lot of people, I think, are looking to the security apparatus in this country or law enforcement to maybe help solve this. That is not going to happen.

Again, there is this phrase in law enforcement, action beats reaction. In a situation like this, where you have a suspect who authorities say was not on any radar, there was no known violent past. The first instance of violence, maybe the first instance of violence and it could be very deadly. And again, it appears if it turns out that this so-called Manifesto is indeed associated with this suspect, this seems like textbook political violence -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he was a guest -- a registered guest in the hotel. So he was obviously inside that entire hotel when all of this happened.

Josh Campbell, thank you very, very much.

I want to toss it back to Fredricka Whitfield right now.

Fred, there is a lot going on. I know you've been following all of this, and for me, it was obviously very personal and very painful.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, indeed. And I know you don't like to be the center of the story, but you were within feet of that shooting and right in the moment of it.

So I am wondering if you could elaborate a little further, Wolf, about when you realize the shooting was taking place and the moment where you were tackled for your safety, for protection.

BLITZER: It was extremely scary, the entire situation. I had been inside the big ballroom where a couple thousand journalists and others were inside distinguished guests, foreign leaders, ambassadors, members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans. And of course, on the dais, the President and all of his senior Cabinet members were there as well.

We had just finished the first course, which was a delicious salad, and afterwards I got up to go to the men's room. The men's room was outside the ballroom. You had to go up one flight of stairs to get there, not far from where the metal detectors were inside the secure area.

I went to the men's room, got out, was walking back, ready to go downstairs, back to the ballroom, when all of a sudden, boom! I heard these loud bangs. Guns were exploding and it was right near me. I looked to my left and all of a sudden I see a guy there on the ground with a big gun. I didn't know what the gun was, but a big gun -- and he was shooting.

The next thing I knew, within a second or two, a police officer was saying, "Get down! Get down!" And he then jumped on top of me, tackled me to the ground and was lying on top of me. I only realized later that he was trying to protect me because there were bullets flying, and it was a dangerous situation.

So I am down on the ground. He is protecting me, and then all of a sudden the bangs, the loudest bangs I've ever heard. Stop! He picks me up, takes me to the nearby men's room where I had been, says, get in there. it will be safe. Closes the door, locks the door, and there are other men inside already, maybe 10 or 15.

Everybody was safe, secure. But it was a very frightening situation. I can tell you that, and fortunately, I am okay. I am fine. But it was just -- it was just -- and I realized that police officer was trying to save me because I was standing there looking right at him. And as a journalist, I wanted to see what was going on. And he said, get down. And then he covered me with his body. And I realized he was trying to protect me and I am grateful to that police officer and what he was doing.

He was risking his own life to try to protect me.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely! And incredible instincts and response. And I mean, hey, Wolf, we are all happy that you're okay as well and are able to really take us there into that moment. I've been to a few of those dinners, too, no one would expect anything like that. You certainly feel, you know, safe and secure, but thank goodness you're okay. Thank goodness that police officer had the instincts that he did. And all of them, for that matter, who helped keep everyone there safe.

Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We are going to talk again right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:02]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are following new developments in the efforts to end the war with Iran. Today, President Trump is reiterating his belief that the war could end soon. That assessment, coming despite his decision to cancel this weekend's trip by his top envoys to Pakistan for peace talks.

Trump canceled that visit after Iran refused to hold direct talks with the U.S. Representatives.

Today, he said, those negotiations will continue, but by phone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us. But again, they know what has to be in the agreement. Very simple. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise, there is no reason to meet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Iran's top diplomat was back in Islamabad today to meet with Pakistani mediators on a possible truce between the U.S. and Iran.

CNN's Nic Robertson is there and joining us right now, Nic, where do these talks stand?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, on the one hand, you really seem to have that sort of face-to-face track of the diplomacy, President Trump not sending Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner saying he is waiting for a phone call that kind of signals that things have slowed down on that sort of diplomatic U.S.-Iran front.

[15:45:13]

You have the security in this city that was keeping the talks venue sort of under a tight security lock. That has now been lifted. Yet, on the other hand, what we are seeing with Iranian Foreign Minister is really some intense movement that we haven't seen since the war ended.

He flew in here, Islamabad, Friday night into Saturday, four hours of meetings through the night, laid out Iran's points. One of those points we understand to be that Iran wants to have a new sort of legal status around the Strait of Hormuz, creates the impression that they feel as a result of the war, they should somehow get more control over the Strait of Hormuz.

They also want war reparations. They also want the U.S. to lift its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. A number of issues there, but that was what President Trump said, no, that is not going far enough.

He left here -- the Iranian Foreign Minister left here yesterday, flew to Muscat. Again, this momentum of talks. He met with the Sultan there in Muscat. We understand as well, there were likely some other key leaders from the region potentially meeting in the margins there.

Then he flies back in here to Islamabad again from Muscat. The Iranian Foreign Minister, landing around about 6:00 P.M., gets into another four hours of meeting, creates the impression when he is meeting with the Pakistani mediators that it is bringing in whatever discussions he has had there in Muscat, is this an update? Is it tweaks? Is it new ideas? Not clear.

He took off a few hours ago, and right now the Iranian Foreign Minister is headed for Russia, where he is expected to meet with President Putin.

So a real sort of diplomatic whirlwind for the Iranian Foreign Minister and it is not really clear what his discussing where and when and how that is going to shift things forward.

But of course, President Putin in Russia widely believe potentially Russia can play a role on the enriched uranium issue if you go back to the last nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, it was the Russians who were given the extra enriched uranium that the Iranians had for safe keeping.

Is that possibly an off ramp with the highly enriched uranium? Right now, we don't know. But on the face of it, the U.S.-Iran side is slowing down. But on the ground, the Iranian Foreign Minister is making a lot of diplomatic movements.

WHITFIELD: Very fascinating. All right, Nic Robertson, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, deadly storms in this country have ripped through the mid part of the country and danger, well, it is not over. It is going to be a rough start to the week. We will show you where.

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WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news: Two people are dead after severe storms slammed Texas with heavy rain and strong wind. Just take a look at this video. This is the aftermath in Springtown, Texas last night.

And CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar is with us now and this same system not over yet.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, it is amazing how much energy really kind of goes with this and that same energy is going to continue.

So some of the damage you saw last night in that Springtown, Texas, is really what is going to fuel a lot of the same storms we are seeing right now and you can see just in the last 48 hours, how many of these storm reports that we have had pop in there. That includes the one from Springtown, Texas, right there on the map, but it was in company with so many others, not just tornadoes, but also very large hail reports and even damaging wind reports.

Now, here is a live look at the radar. You can see a lot of those storms ongoing right now across Kansas, even into Nebraska. The strongest storms right now are in Kansas. You've got these multiple severe thunderstorm warnings right there along that big line of storms heading in towards the Topeka area, then making their way over towards Kansas City here in about the next hour or two. So keep that in mind, that strong line is going to continue, but really, anywhere you see this, what almost looks like the letter R shape on the map, they have the potential for those severe thunderstorms, not just in the next few hours, but really lingering all the way through the evening and overnight hours.

Yes, you're talking very large hail, like tennis ball size or even bigger. You could be looking at damaging winds, 70 to 80 miles per hour and even some strong tornadoes, perhaps EF-2s or even bigger.

So Kansas City, Springfield, Wichita -- all of those areas you see here. That tornado risk we talked about, the greatest is going to be in those kind of line striped areas that you see there through the evening hours tonight.

Then we transition into Monday. There is actually an even higher threat, especially for tornadoes as we head into Monday. This, however, is going to be focused more over the Midwest region, maybe around the mid-Mississippi Valley. So that includes Chicago, Des Moines, Madison, Milwaukee down through Paducah, Louisville, St. Louis -- all of these areas that you see here have that potential for tomorrow.

So even after today, we are not quite going to be done with it. You're still going to have more of those storms linger into the day tomorrow as that whole system continues to just spread off to the East.

So let's look at the timeline. By about 5:00 to 6:00 tonight, you can see a lot of those storms really kind of hitting heavy into the Kansas City area, passing through Omaha. Now, they are going to start to make their way over towards St. Louis. But you also have some of that backfill. So, some of those storms on the back edge of it coming back again as we go through the overnight.

So even after that first round comes through, don't think that you're done with the rain. You're still going to have a couple of rounds of rain coming back through some of these areas. By the start of Monday, a very soggy start to a place like St. Louis, for example, as that system continues to make its way off to the east towards Chicago by the latter half of the day.

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Then even into Tuesday, because it is still not going to be done by the time we get to Tuesday. You've got this long line here that stretches from Texas all the way up through Southwestern Ohio. That includes Cincinnati, Nashville, Memphis back through Shreveport; Dallas once again, same thing, large hail, maybe not as large, maybe around golf ball size, that can still do plenty of damage, but maybe, perhaps not as big as we saw today or expecting tomorrow.

You also still have the potential for damaging winds and even tornadoes. So yes, this is going to be a multi-day thing, Fred, over the next few days.

WHITFIELD: All right, we are in that season, aren't we?

CHINCHAR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

And we want to thank you for joining us this afternoon. And be sure to tune in to "The Situation Room" tomorrow with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown. That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

And for now, CNN's special breaking news coverage of last night's Correspondents' Dinner shooting continues with Kasie Hunt right after this.

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